HP Canon & Epson Ink, Lexmark, Brother Toner cartridge Printer Ink Cartridges News

Lexmark inc, have introduced a range of network ready Multi Function Printers aimed at the SME marketplace.

Compact and affordable, Lexmark’s X500n and X502n colour laser MFP delivers big advantages to small workgroups. These include outstanding colour output, as well as high-performance printing, copying and scanning.

• Affordable network colour laser MFP
• Printing, copying and scanning
• Up to 31 ppm mono, 8 ppm colour
• 1200 x 600 dpi enhanced print quality
• Network-ready and easy to use
• Optional 530-sheet drawer available

The X502n also features a built in fax machine for maximum optimisation of precious office space.

Toner cartridges for both machines are available from stock at Stinkyink.Com

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To paraphrase Mark Twain, ‘the reports of my demise are a little premature’. Oki desktop solutions (who do not produce any inkjet printers) are predicting the demise of the desktop inkjet printer.

”The technology is showing every sign of entering its last useful phase. Market figures are dropping, the value of the machines on the market is dropping, manufacturers are consolidating their ranges. Even predictions for cartridge sales over the years to come are showing a fast drop-off in sales. This is the end for the inkjet.”

Forecasting that the sales of Multi Function Printers (MFP’s) will overtake traditional single function desktop inkjet printers doesn’t take much doing. We predicted that very event 18 months ago, and all of the manufacturers are now pushing comprehensive ranges of both inkjet and laser MFP’s.

In the corporate marketplace the case for the laser network MFP is a no brainer, with todays output quality of lasers matching and in many cases exceeding the quality and speed of output of desktop colour inkjet printers add to this the fact that many people can all access one machine, saving up-front costs it makes eminent sense for companies to invest in this technology.

However for the domestic user and especially for photographic use the inkjet can leave a four colour laser standing in the quality of its output. With the latest Photographic inkjet printers taking up to three shades of black cartridges, their output is now exceeding traditional silver halide photo printing. For more traditional use the manufacturers are all selling six colour MFP’s which again give superb results. All this leaves us living in interesting times

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We, along with all the other customers of the Royal Mail are as disappointed as they are that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have announced and are implementing further disruption to services. According to the Royal Mail website:

‘Royal Mail is hugely disappointed that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced a series of strikes over a two-week period. These begin at 7pm on Wednesday 25th July 2007 and end at 12 noon on Wednesday 8th August. The situation is complex but we have identified the probable impact on services for the week commencing 23rd July. The strike will affect all Mail Centres on Thursday 26th July and Delivery and Collection services will not be available on Saturday 28th July’, they go on to assess the probable impact of the action as follows:

‘What this means for you

• There will be normal access to Royal Mail services on Thursday 26th July
• On Saturday 28th July services will be limited to a single collection from post boxes outside of Post Offices and these collections may be earlier than the normal advertised times
• There will be limited delivery and collection services on Saturday 28th July
• We will do all we can to deliver Special Delivery items. Special Delivery Saturday guarantee will be suspended for Saturday 28th July
• Parcelforce Worldwide’s guaranteed services will remain unaffected
• Royal Mail’s Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected
• All other mail services will be subject to delay

As a consequence of this, we will be offering our customers the option of a low cost next working day delivery Carrier service for the duration of the strike. We will bear a proportion of the cost and only charge £3.99 for the service. Please make sure that if you are desperate you select the Carrier service. We cannot offer this service for weekend deliveries.

The CWU website states as follows:
‘The Communication Workers’ Union has announced an escalation of the level of strike action in Royal Mail. Although postal workers will individually take 2 days of strike action in the next two weeks, the strikes announced mean that there will be two weeks of continuous disruption to mail services. The strikes call out separate functions nationally on different days and the timing is aimed at maximising the impact on mail’, and obviously on their customers also!

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Lexmark reported their second quarter results yesterday and disappointed stock market analysts. What is interesting for us at Stinkyink Towers is in the detail of the reports. The main shortfal for Lexmark was in the consumer sector which declined 8% in the period. Going forward, the main thrust for business will be in the industries key areas of Colour Laser, Laser Multi-Function products and inkjet all-in-ones. Improving product costs will be another focus for the company.

The business market segment performed about as expected and won some major banking contracts in South America especially. Cash flow for the quarter was also very strong giving the company a strong financial position and balance sheet.

Looking forward into Q3 of 2007 the company expects revenue to be down in the low to mid digit percentage range year over year and is expecting tough competition especially from the likes of HP, Epson and now in the US Kodak.

There is still much speculation that Lexmark could be a very tempting take over target and we will be watching this space with much interest

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So the battle between inkjet printers and laserjet printers has spilled out of the print speed and convenience medium and onto the Power Highway.

According to research conducted by Techlogg.com the amount of power consumed by different printers varies enormously according to the technology used in the printer. For instance when they compared a Lexmark E230 Mono Printer with a Canon S800 inkjet printer and found huge differences in the amount of power consumed by the printer when actually printin. This is hardly suprising due to the technology involved in the laser printer. The high-voltage corona-discharge/primary charge roller mechanism laser printers use to print requires plenty of electricity, but also enables the printer to print far more quickly than the inkjet printer.

They concluded ‘Whilst sitting quietly, our test unit pulled 5.9-watts but start printing and that high-voltage charge mechanism really sucks on the power cord, eating through 699.2-watts for brief periods during each page print.

By contrast, we tested a late-model Canon S800 individual ink-tank inkjet printer and even when printing, it only consumed 13.1-watts on average, pushing up to 19-watts when the paper-loading stepper motors kick in.

When in standby mode, it pulls just 1.3-watts and when powered up but not printing, the power consumption only rises to 4.9-watts, similar to that of our test laser printer.

In terms of energy efficiency in printing, inkjet printers leave laser printers for dead but for the rest of the time, the standby power consumption is very similar.

VERDICT: Inkjet printers use up to 90% less power than laser printers while printing but things are pretty much even in standby mode.’.

I would like time to compare the actual cost per page of each printer, because the laser will spit out probably 4 - 5 times the amount of printing that the inkjet will in the same time, thus the inkjet will use more power over the longer period required to match the laserjet output. As usual with Green issues, more questions than answers!

You can read the original article here

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